taking- bearing* on the distant white S of the Stubbenkammer. Horn Ser studied the chart. Stralsund J ^fortress-it had stood more than mia siege lately. If Blanchefteur got in

herfshe would be safe if the Swedes

aw fit to protect her. "Signal Lotus" be said. "Set course to cut chase off toflie course of the interminable war «erv aid to navigation had disap- peared There, was not a buoy left to Snark the deep-water channel up to ^"the mark seven!" called the

teadsman. Nonsuch was in danger- ously shoal water already; Bush was

looking anxious.

»Shorten sail, if you please, Captain

There was no chance of Nonsuch overhauling Blanchefteur, and if they were going to run aground they might * well do so as gently as possible.

"Chase is hauling her wind, sir," said Hurst. , . . . .

So she was; she was clearly givmg no the attempt to reach Stralsund. That was thanks to Vickery, who had gone charging with gallant reckless- ness under full sail through the shoals to head her off.

"Raven'll have a chance at her if she holds that course long!" said Bush In high excitement.

"Chase is going on the other tack!" said Hurst.

"And a half five ! " called the leadsman. Bush was biting his Ups with anxiety; his precious ship was entangling her- self among the shoals on a lee shore, and there was only thirty-three feet of water under her now.

"Heave to, Captain Bush," * said Hornblower. There was no reason to run any farther now until they could see what Blanchefteur intended. Non- such rounded to and lay with her port bow breasting the gentle swell.

"What's happened to Raven?" ex 1 claimed Bush.

J The sloop's fore topmast, with yard

î and sall and everything, had broken ! clear off and was hanging down in a I frightful tangle among her headsails.

I "Aground, sir," said Hurst, glass to eye. 5 The force with which she had hit I the sand had snapped her topmast

« clean off.

} "She draws eight feet less than us, fsk," said Bush, but all Hornblower's f attention was directed again to i Blanchefteur. Obviously she was find ring her way up a channel to the í shelter of Hiddensee. On the horizon ; to windward Hornblower saw* the queer

'_topsails of the bomb ketches; Duncan sand Mound, after blundering about in | the fog, must have caught sight of l Nonsuch while on their way to the ¡rendezvous off Cape Arcona.

"Send the boats to assist Raven, if ¡you please, Captain Bush," said Horn , blower. He betook himself to his tele ' scope again.

Blanchefteur had' found herself a .curious anchorage. She lay between

the main island of Rugen and the long narrow strip of Hiddensee; the latter was more of a sandpit than an '.island, a thread of sand dunes emerg-

ing from the yellow shallows. In fact, ßlanchefleufs spars were still in plain i sight against the background of the ^low mud cliffs of Rugen; it was only sher hull which was concealed by the ,dunes of Hiddensee. On one end of IHiddensee was a battery-Hornblower 'icould see the silhouettes of the guns, "black against the green of the grass ;grown embrasures-which covered one /entrance to the tiny roadstead; at [the other end the breaking waves | showed that there was not water lenough even for a ship's longboat to ¡pass. The squadron had succeeded in ¡.cutting off the privateer's escape into 'Stralsund, but it seemed as if she was Must as safe where she was now, with J..lies of shoals all round her and a '__ \ '.ttery to protect her. Besides, the

I attery's garrison would be Swedes,

nd any vigorous action on his part ïmight easily make Sweden an active

i Hornblower read the message written in crude capitals on the .slate, Flags W truce coming out from Stralsund. flave allowed them to pass. .

"Acknowledge," said Hornblower.

What the devil did that mean? One flag of truce he could expect, but Vickery was reporting two at least. He swung his glass over to where Vickery had very sensibly anchored Lotus, right between Blanchefteur's refuge and any possible succour from Stralsund. There was one . . . two ... three small sails heading straight for the Nonsuch clearly being sailed for all they, were worth, as if it were a race.

"What in God's name?" said Bush, training his glass on them.

It might be a ruse to gain time. Hornblower looked round again at the spars of Blanchefteur above the sand pit. She had furled everything and was at anchor.

"White above yellow and blue, sir," said Bush, still watching the ap- proaching boats. ' "That's Swedish colours under a flag of truce."

Hornblower turned his glass on the leader and confirmed Bush's decision.

"The next one, sir"-Bush laughed apologetically at his own innocence "I know it's strange, sir, but it looks

just like the British ens'n under a flag .

of truce."

The third boat was some long way astern, and her colours were not so easy to make out.

"French, I think, sir," said Hurst, but the leading boat was approaching

fast now.

It was a tall, portly gentleman who was swung up on to the deck in the bos'n's chair, clinging to his cocked hat.< He wore a blue coat with gold buttons and epaulettes, and he hitched his sword and his stock into position before laying the hat-a fore-and-aft one with a white plume and a Swedish cockade-across his chest in a sweep- ing bow.

Basse was a heavily jowled man with a big hook nose and a cold grey eye, and it was obvious that he could' only guess faintly at what Hornblower said.

"You fight?" he asked with an effort.

"I am in pursuit of a privateer under French colours," said Hornblower, and then, realising the difficulty of making himself understood when he had to pick his words, with diplomatic care, "Here, Where's Mr" Braun?"

The interpreter came forward, and Hornblower watched the interplay of glances between the two. They were clearly the deadliest political enemies, meeting here on the comparatively neutral ground of a British man-o' war. Basse brought out a letter from his breast pocket and passed it to

Braun.

"This is a letter from the governor general of Swedish Pomerania," Braun explained, "saying that this gentle- man, the Baron Basse, has his full confidence."

"I understand," said Hornblower.

fiasse was talking rapidly. " - "He says," explained Braun, "that he wants to know what you will do."

"Tell him," said Hornblower, "that that depends on what the Swedes do. Ask him if Sweden is neutral."

Obviously, the reply was not a simple "yes" or "no." ~ Basse offered a lengthy explanation.

"He says that Sweden only wants to be at peace with all the world," said Brauii.

"Tell him that that means neutrality then, and neutrality has obligations as well as privileges. There is a ship of war under French colours there. She must be warned that her presence in Swedish waters can only be tolerated for a limited time, and I must be in- formed of what the time limit is."

"He says he cannot violate"the laws of international amity," said Braun.

"Say that that is exactly what he is doing. That ship cannot be allowed to use a Swedish port as a base of operations. She must be warned to leave, and if she will not then she must be taken over and a guard put in her to make sure she does not slip away."

Braun spoke to him, but any reply he was eoine tn make was cut short by Bush's salute to Hornblower

"The French flag of truce Is alongside, sir shall I allow them to send someone on board'"

"Oh, yes," said Hornblower testily.

The new figure that came in through the entrv port was even more decorative than Basse althoueh a much smaller man. Across his blue coat lav the watered red silk ribbon of the Legion of Honour

"The Count Joseph Dumoulin," he said speakLne French, "consul general in Swedish Pomerania of His Imperial and Royal Majesty Napoleon, Emperor of the French, King of Italy, protector of the Con

federation of the Rhine, mediator of the Swiss

Republic."

"Captain Hornblower," said Hornblower. He was suddenly excessively cautious, because his govern ment had never recognised those resounding titles which Dumoulin had just reeled off. In the eves of King George and his ministers, Napoleon Em- peror of the French, was merely General Bona parte in his personal capacty, and chief of the

French government in his official one.

"Is there anyone who can speak French" asked

Dumoulin politely.

"You can address yourself to me, sir," said Horn-

blower.

"You speak admirable French, sir," said Dumoulin He bowed, again. "I am here to support M le Baron in his statement of the belligerent position

of Swedish Pomerania.:*

Braun interpreted, and Basse's embarrassment

perceptibly increased.

"Boat with English colours alongside, sir," inter-

rupted Bush.

The man who came on board was immensely fat and dressed in a sober black civilian suit.

"Hauptmann," he said, bending himself at the waist; he spoke English with a thick German

accent. "His Britannic Majesty's consular agent

at Stralsund."

"What can I do for you, Mr Hauptmann?" asked

Hornblower, trying not to allow himself to grow

bewildered.

"I have come," said Hauptmann-actually what he said was "I haf gome"-"to help explain to you the position here in Swedish Pomerania."

"I see no need for explanation," said Hornblower "If Sweden is neutral, then that privateer must be either forced to leave or taken into custody, if Sweden is a belligerent, then my hands are free."

He looked round at his audience. Braun began

to translate into Swedish.

"What was it you said, captain?" asked Dumoulin. Desperately, Hornblower plunged into a French translation, and the curse of Babel descended upon the Nonsuch. Everyone tried to speak at once; translation clashed with expostulation. Clearly, what Basse wanted was the best of both worlds, to make both France and England believe Sweden was friendly. What Dumoulin wanted was to make sure that Blanchefteur would be enabled to con- tinue her depredations among British shipping.

"Come with me for a minute, please," said Haupt- mann. . He put his fat hand on Hornblower's shrinking arm and led him across the quarter-dec.

out of earshot.

"You are a young man," said Hauptmann, "and I know you naval officers. You are all headstrong. Do nothing in a hurry,. sir. The international situation here is very tense indeed. An insult to Sweden might mean actual war instead of pre | tended war. You must be careful."

"I am always careful," snapped Hornblower, "but do you expect me to allow that privateer to behave I as if this were Brest or Toulon?"

Braun came over to them. Baron Basse asked me to say to you, sir, that Bonaparte has two hundred thousand men on the borders of Pomer- ania. He wants me to say that one cannot offend the master of an army that size."

"That bears out what I say, captain," said Hauptmann.

Here came Dumoulin, and Basse after him-no one would trust any one of his colleagues to be alone with the British captain.

The whole tangle of Baltic politics, of hole-and corner hostilities and neutralities, was . utterly beyond unravelling. Hornblower listened to every« one's pleas and .expostulations until he could bear tt no longer.

"I can form no conclusion at present, gentlemen," said Hornblower. "I must have time to think over the information you have given me." He stood at the salute as they went down into their boats, and then sprang into activity again.

"Signal for the captains of Moth, Harvey, and Clam to come on board," he ordered abruptly.

The bomb vessels and the cutter were within easy signalling distance now; there were three hours oi daylight left, and over there the spars of the French privateer still showed tauntingly over the

sand dunes of Hiddensee.

HORNBLOWER swung himself up over the side

of the Harvey, where Lieutenant Mound stood at attention to welcome him with his two boat- swain's mates twittering their pipes. t

As the Harvey filled her sails and headed diagonally for the shore, with Moth close astern, Hornblower looked round him. This was a new experi- ence for him; in twenty years of ser- vice he had never seen action in a bomb vessel. Above him towered the enormous mainmast-they had made a good job of replacing the spar shot away in the Sound-which had to make up in the amount of canvas it carried for the absence of a fore- mast. The mizzen-mast, stepped far aft, was better proportioned to the diminutive Vessel. The prodigious forestay necessary for the security of the mainmast was an iron chain, curi- ously incongruous amid the hempen rigging. The waist of the ketch was forward-that was the absurd but only way of describing her design and there, on either side of her mid line, were the two huge mortars which accounted for her quaint build. Close beside him in the port-side main chains, a hand was heaving the lead; Hornblower thought to himself that nine-tenths of the time he had spent in the Baltic the lead had been going, and presumably that would be the case for the rest of this commission.

"And a half three!" called the leads- man. These bomb ketches drew less than nine feet.

Over there, Raven was preparing to kedge off the shoal on which she was aground. Hornblower could see the cable, black against the water. She had already cleared away the raffle of her wrecked fore-topmast. Clam was creep- ing out beyond her; Hornblower won- dered if her gypsy-looking captain had fully grasped his complex instructions.

Mound was standing beside him, conning the ship. He was the only commissioned officer; a midshipman and two master's mates kept watches, and the two latter were standing, wide legged, . aft, measuring with sextants the vertical angle subtended by Blanchefteur's spars. Hornblower could sense through the vessel an at- mosphere of lightheartedness, only to be expected when the captain was only twenty years old.

"Quarter less three!" called the leads-

man. _. Seventeen feet of water.

"We are within range now, sir," said

Mound.

"Those mortars of yours are more accurate Vhen firing at less than ex- treme range, though, aren't they?"

"Yes, sir. And I would prefer to have a little to spare, too, in case they can shift anchorage."

"Leave yourself plenty of room to swing, though. We know nothing of these shoals."

"Aye, aye, sir."

Mound swung round for a final glance at the tactical situation; at the spars of the Blanchefteur above the dunes, where she was anchored far up the lagoon, the battery at the end of the spit, Clam taking up a position where she could see up the lagoon from a point just out of range of the battery, and Lotus waiting beyond the entrance to cut off escape, in case by any mir- acle the Blanchefteur should be able to claw her way out to windward and make a fresh attempt to reach Stral- sund. Mount kept on reaching for his trousers pockets and then hastily refraining from putting his hands in, when he remembered the commodore was beside him.

"Aye, aye, sir," said Mound, a little startled. He plunged his hands in gratefully and hunched his shoulders, pleasantly relaxed, before calling 'to the midshipman standing by the cat- head forward, "Mr -Jones! Let go!"

The anchor cable roared out briefly as the crew of the ketch raced aloft to get in the canvas.

Mound moved with a deceptive ap- pearance of leisureliness about the business of opening fire. He took a

selles of bearings to make sure that the anchor was holding. At a word from him a seaman tied a white rae to the spring where it lay on the deck as it passed forward to the capstan and Mound fished in his pocket, brought out a piece of chalk, and marked a scalp on the deck beside the rag.

"Mr Jones," he said, "take a turn on the capstan."

Four men at the capstan turned ib easily. The white rag crept along the deck as the spring was wound in The stern of the vessel pulled round so that she lay at an angle to the wind and the amount of the angle was roughly indicated by the movement of the white rag against the scale

chalked on the deck.

"Carry on, Mr Jones," said Mound taking a rough bearing of the Blanche fteufs spars. The captain clanked as the men at the bars spun it round

"Steady!" called Mound, and they stopped. "One more pawl," said Mound, sighting very carefully now for Blanchefteur1 s mainmast.

"Clank!" went the capstan as the men momentarily threw their weight

on the bars.

"I think that's right, sir," said Mound The Harvey's centre line was pointing straight at Blanchefteur. "Of course the cables stretch and the anchor may drag a little, but it's easy enough to maintain a constant bearing by paying out or taking in on the spring."

"So I understand," said Hornblower He was familiar with the theory of the bomb vessel; actually he was in- tensely interested in and excited at the' prospect of the approaching

The powder was made up in cart- ridges of a pound, half a pound, and a quarter of a pound. The midship- man tore open one of each size and poured the contents into the star- board-size mortar, and pressed it home with an enormous wad of felt.

Mound had a measuring rule; he bent over one of the big shells, and with a pair of scissors he cut the fuse with profound care.

"One and eleven-sixteenths, sir," he said, apologetically. "That seems right for now. Of course, we don't want the shell to burst in the air, but if you have too long a fuse some frog may get to it and put it out before it bursts."

"Naturally," said Hornblower.

The big shell was lifted up and placed in the muzzle of the mortar. The curve of the thirteen-inch shell, with the fuse protruding, was just level with the-rim of the muzzle.

"Hoist the red swallow-tall!" called Mound, raising his voice to reach the ears of the master's mate aft.

Hornblower turned and looked through his glass at Clam, anchored in the shallows a couple of miles away. It was under his personal supervision that this code of signals had been ar- ranged, and he felt a keen anxiety. A red swallow-tail mounted to the Clam's peak.

"Signal acknowledged, sir!" called the

master's mate.

Mound took hold of the smouldering linstock and applied it to the fuse of the shell. After a moment the fuse took fire, spluttering feebly.

"One, two, three, four, five," counted Mound slowly, while the fuse still spluttered. Apparently he left him- self a five-second margin in case the fuse burned unsatisfactorily and had to be relit. Then he pressed the lin- stock into the touchhole of the mortar, and it went off with a roar. Stand- ing immediately behind the mortar Hornblower could see the shell rise, its course marked by the spark of the burning fuse. Up and up it went, higher and higher, and then it dis- appeared as it began its downward flight. They waited, and they waited, and nothing more happened.

snark of the fuse soared toward the ! sky and disappeared, and again no 1 thing more happened.

"White pendant from Clam sir.

"Too long again?" said Mound, a \ little puzzled. "I hope they're not

crosseyed over there."

i Moth fired again and was rewarded '- by a double white pendant from Clam.

This shell had passed over when her preceding one had fallen short. It should be easy for Moth to find the I target now. Mound was checking the ^ bearing of the target. "Still pointing .' straight at her," he grumbled. . . . , "Mr Jones, take one half a quarter

pound from that pound and a half."

Hornblower was trying to imagine ? what the captain of the Blanchefteur

was doing at that moment on his own 1 side of the sandspit. Probably until

the very moment when the bomb ' ketches opened fire, he had felt secure,

imagining that nothing except a direct assault on the battery could imperil him. But now shells must be drop- ping quite close to him, and he was mabie to reply or defend himself in 1 any active way. It would be hard for

him to get under way; he had anchored his ship at the far end} of the long narrow lagoon.

Moth's mortar roared out again, but this time they saw the shety burst, apparently directly above the Blanche fieufs mastheads. They saw the big ball of smoke, and the sound of the explosion came faintly back to them on the wind. Mound shook his head gravely; either Duncan over there had not cut his fuse correctly or it had burned away more rapidly than usual. Two blue flags at Clam's peak in- dicated that the fall of Moth's shot had been unobserved-the signalling system was still functioning correctly. Then Mound bent his gangling body over and applied the linstock to fuse and touchhole. The mortar roared.

Hornblower, Mound, Jones, the whole mortar's crew stood waiting tensely. Then over the rim of the sand dune they saw a hint of white smoke, and the sound of the bursting shell came back to them directly afterward.

"I think we have hit her. sir," said Mound, with elabórate carelessness.

"Black ball at Clam's masthead, sir!" shouted the master's mate.

That meant a hit. A thirteen-inch shell soaring that immense distance into the air had come plunging down on to BJanchefleufs decks and had exploded.

"Bothmortars together, now!" snapped Mound. "Jump to it, you men!"

Two white pendants at the dip from Clan meant that Moth's next shot had fallen close, but too far. Then both of Harvey's mortars roared; the little ketch dipped and plunged as the violence of the recoil forced her bows down. Up went the black ball to dam's masthead. '

"Another hit!" exulted Mound.

Bhncheflcur's topmasts, seen over the dunes, suddenly began to separate. one was turning round; her desperate crew was trying to tow her or kedge her back up the channel.

"Please God we wreck her before she gets away!" said Mound. "Why doesn't

Moth fire?"

Hornblower watched him closely; the

temptation to fire his mortars the moment they were loaded, without waiting for Moth to take her turn, was powerful, indeed, but to yield to it "meant confusion for the observer over

in Clam and eventual losing of all con- trol. Moth fired, and two black balls at Clam's masthead showed that she, too, had scored a hit. But Blanche- fteur had turned now. Mound fired his two mortars, and even while the shells were in the air his men leaped to the capstan and flung themselves on the bars. Clank, clank! Twice the pawl slipped over the ratchet as they hauled in on the spring and swung the ketch round to keep her mortars trained on the target. At that instant Blanchefteur's fore topmast fell from view. Only main and mizzen were in sight now.

"Another hit!" shouted Hornblower, the words forced from him like a cork from a popgun. He was as excited as a schoolboy; he found he was jump-

ing up and down on the deck. The . foremast gone; he tried to picture the frightful destruction those shells must be causing, crashing down on the frail wooden decks. And there was smoke visible over the crest of the dunes. Mizzenmast and mainmast came into line again; Blanchefteur was swinging across the channel. She must be out of control.

Moth fired again, and two red swal- low-tails at the dip showed that her . shells had fallen close and short;

Blanchefteur must have swerved ap- preciably across the channel. Mound had noticed it, and was increasing the propelling charge in his mortars. That was smoke; undoubtedly it was smoke eddying from Blanchefteur. She must be on fire. And from the way she lay, stationary again-Hornblower could see that her topmasts made no move- ment at all relative to the sand dunes -she must have gone aground. Mound fired again. There went the mizzen topmast, leaning, over slowly, and then the main topmast disappeared as well. There was nothing to see now, except the smoke rising.

Hornblower's inner eye was seeing mental pictures of the shells plunging from the sky in among the crew of the Blanchefteur as they laboured amid the flames to save their ship, burning, dismasted, and aground. It took only the briefest interval of time for "those pictures to form, for the moment the signal was seen in Clam, Mound bent to fire the mortars, and yet the fuses had not taken fire when the sound of a violent explosion checked him. Horn- blower whipped his glass to his eyes; an immense gust of smoke showed over the sand dunes, and in the smoke Hornblower thought he could make out flying specks-corpses or frag- ments of the ship, blown into the air by the explosion. The fire or one of AfoWt'slast shells had reached Blanche fleur's magazines.

"Signal to Clam, Mr Mound," said Hornblower: " 'What do you see of the enemy?' "

"Very good, Mr Mound. I think we can leave these shallows now before daylight goes. Hang out the recall, if you please, with Clam's number and Lotus' number."

This watery northern sunshine was deceptive. It shone upon one, but it gave one no heat at all. Hornblower shivered violently for a moment; he had been standing inactive, he told himself, upon the Harvey's deck for some hours, and he should have worn a greatcoat. Yet that -was not the real explanation of the shudder, and he knew it. The excitement and in- terest had died away, leavinT him gloomy and deflated. It had been a brutal and cold-blooded business, de- stroying a ship that had no chance of firing back. It would read well in a report, and brother officers would tell one another ( of Hornblower's new achievement, destroying a big French privateer in the teeth of the Swedes and the French, amid shoals innumer- able. Only he would know of this feeling of inglorious-anti-climax.